’ Economists and neuroscientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have shown that they can use information obtained through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurements of whole-brain activity to create feasible, efficient, and fair solutions to one of the stickiest dilemmas in economics, the public goods free-rider problem—long thought to be unsolvable.
This is one of the first-ever applications of neurotechnology to real-life economic problems, the researchers note. “We have shown that by applying tools from neuroscience to the public-goods problem, we can get solutions that are significantly better than those that can be obtained without brain data,” says Antonio Rangel, associate professor of economics at Caltech and the paper’s principal investigator.’
‘Indeed, Rangel says, it is possible to imagine a future in which, instead of a vote on a proposition to fund a new highway, this technology is used to scan a random sample of the people who would benefit from the highway to see whether it’s really worth the investment. “It would be an interesting alternative way to decide where to spend the government’s money,” he notes.’
I think this is highly inappropriate if not an obscene perversion of the right to free will or freedom. Any thoughts?
The concept is very interesting and could be good or bad depending on who gets their hands on it. One practical use that came to mind while reading the excerpt that you provided was advertising companies providing free/reduced cost MRI’s in exchange for surveries they would administer during the procedure. On the other hand if the government got their hands on this technology they’d probably use it for sinister purposes in the name of democracy, national security, and for the sake of society as a whole. Wal-marts vs. The governments application of RFID chips is a perfect example of this.
If you read the whole article you will see it for use by, I think primarily, governments to I think impose public works on a collection of people, and trying to justify those works based on the results of this “mind-reading” procedure to associate a value of a public works project to those individuals.
Suppose they want to impose a health-care plan. They use this “mind-reading” procedure to ascribe a value as to how much a person thinks they will benefit by this health care plan. Then they use that info to calculate how much they tax the public for that plan.
I don’t think it will be used to give people a free choice. Rather I think it will be used to take away choice from people.
“hmm, should we build a new road. Call it Jefferson avenue Mr. President? it really will go over well with the polls and get a lot of people thinkin’ we are really lookin’ out for their liberty - you know Jefferson was one of the liberty people, maybe call it Independence Ave - that might be better, a?”
“Jefferson, what? oh, yeah, I heard of him before. Well what do the mind reading scanners say this week Mr. Labor Secretary?”
After scanning my brain the world will be filled with attractive blonde women serving beer, burrito’s, and telling me to take a nap any time I feel like it.
Which is business as usual in government. I was refering to how government takes potentially useful technologies and uses them to push their own special interests. Jeffrey Tucker touches on this in one of his latest Daily Mises articles: No Such Thing as a Free Search
I always thought of MRI’s and mind reading tests to be like applying mathematic models to economics. In one’s brain there are too many factors you cannot isolate to get any clear picture of whats going on. So scientists look for patterns but dis-regard any behavoral or genetic anomoly’s which may also occur. Ultimately I think it’s just bad science.